Heartbreakers
by QTR
Summary: Rewrite of 'Love Struck'. What happens when Sara finally asks someone for help? CS Rating changed for content in further chapters. Now completed.
1. Reading Sara Sidle

**A/N: This is the re-write of my fic 'Love Struck'. I was not satisfied with it. At all. Seriously, I thought it was a piece of crap xD**

Catherine Willows could read people. She certainly had been around her share of murderers and rapists to be abe to tell who was innocent and who was guilty. And not only could she read suspects, but she could read her coworkers. Her family. She could tell when one of them had had a bad day or really needed someone to talk to, or just to have a shoulder to cry on. It was one of Ms. Willows' many gifts. After all, she was a CSI, she did have to be observant- though their was one member of her family that she could not always read...

Sara Sidle. No one could ever figure out the mystery that was Sara Sidle. A tall brunette dedicated to her work, always in a seemingly fine mood. She was stubborn and she always protested that nothing was wrong with her- but her coworkers could tell something was wrong with her half of the time. Although she was very good at hiding the anguish she felt inside, during some cases she had a tendency to...break. And in break, not in just fall apart. She literally broke down. She shattered into millions of pieces that could only be picked up with time. And those pieces still had not been picked up.

Emotional. Empathetic. Insubordinate. Those were the words Catherine had heard used to describe her coworker on bad days. But Catherine knew there was something more. That...there must have been more to the story than a case simply bugging Sara, or a suspect irritating her. Sara Sidle had insecurities. And Catherine Willows knew.

She knew Sara tried to put up a tough front. She never wanted anyone to see the secret vulnerable side of her. A side that of her that made her feel like a small child crying in a corner. But what Catherine didn't understand was why. Why would she not want anyone to see this side of her? Was she ashamed? Catherine didn't understand- someone could help her if she reached out and spoke up to them.

Or did she not trust the people she was closest to? Catherine had wondered this on more than one occasion. She had observed her coworker's actions, and she had noticed how hard it was for the brunette to trust someone.

There were so many questions that were unanswered. Catherine knew a lot about her coworkers- Warrick had a gambling problem. Nick had been raped as a child and buried alive the year before. Grissom trusted Catherine with the knowledge of his hearing problem.

But where did that leave Sara? What was her story? Everyone had a story, they were like a book waiting to be opened. Except for Sara. It was as though she had four unpenetrable walls around her, walls that she refused to put down. She didn't talk to anyone about her problems, she kept them all bottled up inside. Catherine wondered how she could do that- the woman was quite a few years younger than her, and, being a mother and also knowing from experience, that was certainly not good for the mind. Or body.

Too many times had Catherine seen Sara walk into the lab with dark circles under her eyes and blood-shot eyes. Too many times had she noticed her coworker being underweight. And too many times had she seen her coworker lose it in front of suspects or on certain cases because her walls had been penetrated. In truth, Catherine did not know how anyone could penetrate her walls. Catherine, actually, had tried a few times. If a person like her- someone who made murderers crack- could not get to Sara Sidle, then why would a rapist be able to?

Catherine was always worried. Worried that Sara would crack under the pressure of keeping everything inside. And Catherine didn't even know what that everything was. She knew the least about Sara, actually- the younger woman had never sought out Catherine for help in her personal matters. The only time she had ever asked Catherine for help was when she was maxed-out on overtime for the month and needed someone to convince Grissom to let her back into the field. And Catherine knew why. It was because Sara was so emotionally unstable that she sought comfort in her work. Her work took her away from the bad things she was going through- away from the bad things that were resurfacing in her life. Work made her concentrate on something else. It didn't leave time for her to concentrate on other things such as her own life.

Sara Sidle was a total mystery. To Catherine. To the world.

Catherine had almost asked her about her insecurities a few times...but she was afraid of what her reaction would be. And also, she was afraid that she would penetrate something that shouldn't have been penetrated. That she would say or do something that she never should have done and make things even worse for her coworker than they already were. And Catherine had no idea how bad things were for her coworker. Sara obviously had something happen that made her the way she was. Sara was definetly not like other women Catherine had met.

And lately, Catherine knew something was wrong. Sara was definelty not herself. She was jumpy. Whenever someone said anything to her she jumped and looked at them with big, fear-filled eyes. No one else except Catherine had noticed this, which she found to be sort of strange. And also, Catherine noticed that in the locker room Sara kept getting a lot of calls on her cell phone, and she could tell that they were not pertaining to any cases they were working on. And one other thing that made Catheirne uneasy was the fact that Sara refused to take her jacket off. It could be the hottest day Vegas has seen in twenty years and she would not take her jacket off. Instead, she shook her head and wrapped it around herself tighter.

Now why in the hell would she do that?

Catherine had gone home that night wondering that. During dinner with her daughter, she was still thinking about this. Was she pregnant? No...or at least Catherine didn't think so. She didn't see any signs of pregnancy, and she should know, she was the mother after all. No, it couldn't be pregnancy, it had to be something else. Was she just...cold? No. Catherine ruled that out the second the image of sweat beading down the woman's face entered her brain for the umpteenth time. It was something else. And Catherine was determined to figure out what it was.

That night, after putting Lindsey to bed, Catherine sat up in the living room on the couch with a cup of coffee thinking. It was bugging the hell out of her, probably more so than it should have been. She debated on whether or not she should call Warrick or Nick for someone to talk to, to try and get Sara off of her mind, or if she should call the young woman herself and try to get some answers.

Sitting with a htot mug of coffee in her hands, Catherine took a sip and prepared herself for a long night of staying up thinking. She closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh, leaning her head back against the couch headrest. Still thinking, she could feel herself falling into a light sleep. Maybe she wasn't going to stay up thinking after all...

The sound of something (or someone) pounding on the door woke Catherine up instantly. Her head shot up and she looked around, trying to find the source of the noise. She could hear the pounding again and then hear it grow softer. She had now stood up and confirmed that the sound was coming from the closed and locked front door of her home. She slowly got up and walked over to the front door, mentally cursing that she didn't have a peephole on it. With her hands trembling, she slowly undid the two locks on the door and slid the chain off. She opened the door slowly, getting ready to pounce at whoever or whatever was behind the door if they posed a threat.

The sight Catherine Willows was greeted with was not a threat.

It was a cry for help.

In front of her lay the motionless form of the brunette she was just thinking of. Her eyes were closed, a deep purple surrounding one of them. Her bottom lip was cut and blood was pouring from her nose. Catherine let out a small gasp as she took in the image in front of her. She slowly kneeled down beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder, barely making contact with her skin to make sure she didn't hurt her.

"Sara?" Catherine asked in a quiet voice.

Sara turned to look at her, cracking her eyes open a little, breathing heavily as she slowly opened her mouth. "Cath...please...help me..."


	2. Childhood

"Sara..." Catherine said. "What...what happened?" she asked.

"Cath...please...just please help me," Sara said, lifting a hand out to her. Catherine slowly took it.

"Okay...I need to get you inside," Catherine told her. Sara slowly nodded as Catherine helped her inside. The brunette swayed back and forth as she was led inside and finally collapsed on the couch, leaning her head back against the head-rest. "I'll get you some ice," Catherine said, walking into the kitchen and opening the freezer.

Now something was definetly not right. Sara looked like she had just went a few rounds with Mike Tyson. And lost. Badly. Possible scenarios were racing through Catherine's mind as she walked back into the living room and handed Sara a bag of ice.

"Thanks.." Sara said, wincing as she put the ice against her face.

"Sara...what happened to you?" Catherine asked, sitting down on the couch next to her.

Sara sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "You of all people have noticed the way I've been acting in the lab. I could tell. I knew you were always watching me. So you knew something was up.."

Catherine just responded with a weak nod.

"You know...how I've been getting a bunch of phone calls?"

Catherine nodded.

"And how I've been wearing my jacket all the time?"

"Yeah..."

Sara stood up and set the ice pack down, unzipping her jacket and sliding it off of her shoulders. The sight Catherine saw would make anyone want to get sick. The pale skinned- arms of the brunette in front of Catherine were covered in purple and black bruises. They were almost completely covered, it was hard to tell what her arms may have looked like before.

"Oh honey..." Catherine said, looking up at Sara. "What happened?"

"This...guy," Sara said. "He...knows me...and...I know him, he...was my foster brother," Sara said quietly, looking down at the floor. "He had been living in California, I didn't know why he would come to Vegas," Sara whispered, bringing her knees up to chest and holding onto them tightly. "Until I got a phone call one day."

"Phone call?" Catherine asked. "What...did he say?" she asked, even though there were millions of other questions racing through her mind.

"He...told me that he was back...that...he was back to finish...finish what he..started," Sara said, looking up at Catherine wide, fear-filled eyes.

"Finish...what he started?" Catherine asked. "What...did that mean?"

Sara sighed, lowering her head and burying her face in her knees. "Catherine...you and I have not always been on the best of terms...I know it and you know it," Sara told her. "There's a lot you don't know about me. A lot no one knows about me. Grissom knows the most about me...I told him something about my childhood, but...I never told him the second part."

Catherine nodded a little. She was right, she didn't know that much about Sara, but if she opened up and allowed Catherine inside of her mind for even a second, that would change everything. "And...the first part was...?" she asked, not quite wanting to get to the second part yet, as it seemed to bring back more painful memories.

Sara sighed, closing her eyes. "You know that case a while back...with the Meltons?" Sara asked.

Catherine nodded. "Yeah..."

"You don't know why that affected me so much, do you?" she asked.

Catherine shook her head.

Sara sighed. "It brought back a lot of memories of my childhood, of...my parents. My father used to...he was a drunk, Catherine...and...he used to hit my mother. I tried to make them stop but all that got me was a few bruises of my own. My brother moved away when he turned 18, and from then on things only got worse.." Sara whispered.

Catherine's eyes widened. She was from an abusive environment. Now she understood why that case had affected her so much.

"One night...she...killed him. She..got a butcher knife and stabbed him to death. I saw the whole thing," Sara said, once again burying her face in her knees to hide the tears in her eyes.

"Oh my god..." Catherine whispered, moving a little closer to her. "I'm so sorry, Sara...I had no idea..."

Sara looked up at her. "I went into foster care..." Sara continued. "My foster parents were nice..." she said with a little laugh. "They were great people...they always kept me laughing," she said with a weak smile. "Everything was going great for a while...I had a best friend...he was like the big brother I really never had.." she said. "But then...this guy came into the family. He was my new foster brother. My friend was afraid...he kept warning me about him. He didn't think he was good for me to be around," Sara said.

Catherine just nodded slowly. She didn't like where this was going. Not one bit. She now knew that she came from an abusive family and that her mother had killed her own father, but now she was telling her a second half of the story...hadn't she been through enough as it was?

"I didn't believe him. I had only known my foster brother for a day and I already put my trust in him...the next day my foster parents had to go somewhere. They were going to leave us alone for a while, they thought we would be okay. We always kept the doors locked and we had a baseball bat in the closet...but...I didn't feel safe around my foster brother...I didn't know why, it was just something about him...he rubbed me the wrong way...and the thought of being alone with him for so long was just...making me uneasy," she told her.

Catherine put a friendly hand on her shoulder and scooted closer to her, getting into the same position as Sara.

Sara took a deep breath as she continued. "In a way, I deserved it. I didn't listen to my friend. I was stupid. I didn't stop to think what the big deal was about a 17-year-old boy living with a 13-year-old...or staying alone with one for a few days..." she said, staring down at the floor. "He had asked me if I could come into his room. I was hesitant, but I finally said I would. I remember walking down the hallway...it seemed like the longest walk of my life. I stepped inside his room, only to fnd him nowhere in sight.." Sara whispered, squeezing her knees tightly.

"Where...was he?" Catherine asked quietly.

"He...was there...I just didn't see him. He was...he was behind his door, he had...hidden from me. And...this was not a game of hide-and-seek," she said.

"Then...what..was it?" Catherine whispered.

"He...had planned it. He hid behind his door and waited for me to come in...because..he was going to.." Sara's voice began to break. 20 years of keeping it bottled up inside had really caughten up with her and taken its toll. The tears began to fall now, and she buried her face in her knees once again as she began to sob.

Catherine put a hand on her back as she pulled Sara to her in a gentle embrace. Rubbing her back softly, she tried to calm her down. "Shh...Sara, it's okay," Catherine told her. "It's okay."

Sara's body continued to shake violently with each new series of sobs. "He...he raped me, Catherine!" she yelled, burying herself in the older woman's arms.

Catherine's eyes went wide with shock. She pulled Sara closer to her as she heard those words, a hand still on her back, rubbing it softly. "Oh, Sara..." Catherine whispered.

"I trusted him, Catherine!" Sara sobbed. "I trusted him!"

"I know, honey," Catherine told her.

"How could he have done that?" Sara asked in between sobs.

"He's sick," Catherine said. "You know that...he's just a sick person." And then something hit Catherine. This guy had raped her when she was younger. And Sara mentioned that he wanted to come back and finish what he had started...and Catherine saw Sara's injuries. Did that mean...that...he had..done it again?

"Hey Sara," Catherine said quickly. "Um...you know how you told me about the phone call you got from him?" Catherine asked. Sara responded with a weak nod. "Did...he..do..anything when he came to see you again?" Catherine asked, not liking to have to ask this question, but she needed to be sure.

Sara froze. She looked up at Catherine with a dog-caught-in-the-headlights look. She knew what Catherine meant by that. Changing the subject, she broke away from the gentle embrace and wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her arms softly. "Can I take a bath?" Sara asked quietly.

Catherine knew what she should have said. The CSI part of her was screaming at her to process her friend and get her to a hospital, but the friend part of her was screaming for her to let her take a bath and get some rest. And the friend part of her won. "Sure," Catherine said. "I'll start it for you..I have some clothes you can sleep in, I'll go get them too," Catherine said, standing up and walking off.

Catherine walked into the bathroom and turned the faucets on in the bathtub. Waiting for the bathtub to fill up, she got a towel and washcloth for her, which she set on the counter in the bathroom. Walking out of the bathroom, she headed into her bedroom and picked out a comfortable outfit for Sara to wear to sleep. She walked back into the bathroom and set the clothes down next to the towel and washcloth and turned the faucets off.

Catherine walked out of the bathroom and over to Sara, who sat still on the couch. She looked up at Catherine as she walked over to her. "Your bath is ready," Catherine told her. "I put a pair of clothes in there for you to sleep in," she told her. "I'll make a place here for you to sleep," Catherine said as Sara stood up and made her way to the bathroom.

"Thank you Catherine," Sara told her, looking back at her and wiping a tear away from her face.

Catherine just shot her a small smile. "Don't mention it. If you need anything just let me know," Catherine told her. Sara nodded and closed the door of the bathroom.


	3. Washing Away the Bad Times

**A/N: Please note that this is not a continuation of The Life and Times of Sara Sidle. I just thought about a 'what-if' scenario of Matthew (if you have read the story you will know who this is) coming back. Thank you, and I apologize for any confusion!**

Catherine waited a minute before walking into the hallway to set up a place for Sara to sleep. Opening the closet, she pulled out a few blankets and some spare pillows. She walked back into the living room and set them down, setting Sara's jacket on the back of the couch. Once a little place was set up, she walked over to a lounge chair next to the couch and took a seat, resting her head on the head-rest.

Catherine did not think any of this was going to happen tonight. She had fallen into a light sleep and then wham- a knock at the door, and who does she find behind the door? None other than her coworker, who looked like she had been beaten to a bloody pulp. And then Sara told her about her past, which was something Catherine thought would never happen. And Sara definetly did not have a happy childhood. From her father abusing her, to her mother killing her father, to being raped by her own foster brother, there only seemed to be little snippets in between that actually sounded cheerful.

How the hell did she keep this in the whole time? How could she have gone through life without telling anyone? How could she have worked this job, talking to people who had gone through things very similar to her own experiences, without cracking? Catherine had no idea. She, for one, knew that if she were in Sara's shoes she would have cracked a long time ago. But Sara, instead of telling people about everything, kept it bottled up inside of her, having outbursts whenever someone came too close to the truth for her own comfort.

And Sara hadn't always had a cheerful time working at the Las Vegas Crime Lab. She had almost been blown up in the lab explosion, which Catherine blamed herself for. Too many cases had haunted her every thought or gotten her in trouble with her superiors because she refused to ask someone for help. Hank Peddigrew had used her to cheat on his girlfriend. Something, or someone, led her to a DUI. And she found herself in the clutches of a psychotic rapist in the state mental instituition where she worked a case with Grissom.

A lot for one person to handle, as well as her past.

Catherine sighed deeply, looking over at a picture on the wall to try to take her mind away from everything for a little while. Thinking about this certainly wasn't making her feel any better. She closed her eyes and tried to relax for a few minutes, but her eyes opened again when she heard something. It was a small, whimper coming from the bathroom, the most pitiful sound Catherine had ever heard in her life. She knew instantly who the sound was coming from and she got out of the chair, slowly making her way down the hallway to the bathroom.

She knocked on the door softly as she heard another whimper. "Sara?" she asked quietly. She didn't get a response from the woman inside, so she knocked again, this time a little harder. "Sara?" she said again. "Sara, are you okay?" she asked, now genuinely concerned. Each time she said something, her only response was the eerie silence that followed. "Sara, I'm going to come in," Catherine said, slowly turning the doorknob.

Catherine poked her head inside and looked down at Sara. She had tears running down her cheeks, and her entire body was submerged in water. She held a damp washcloth in her hand, scrubbing furiously at her body. Catherine threw the door open and kneeled down beside her. "Sara," Catherine started. "Sara, you're going to hurt yourself," Catherine said, reaching for the washcloth.

Sara finally looked up at her when her hand came into view. She tore it away from her, finally looking up and making eye-contact with the other woman. She looked absolutely terrified. Catherine had never seen someone this scared before. Looking down at her wrists and arms, Catherine noted the raw red skin, which was only becoming more raw with each time Sara scrubbed at it.

"Sara, hand me the washcloth," Catherine said quietly.

"No," Sara protested.

"Sara, please, you're scrubbing too hard," Catherine said, reaching for the washcloth once again.

"No, Catherine," Sara said, looking up at her. "I can feel him."

"Honey, I know, but you're going to hurt yourself.." she said, finally grabbing onto the washcloth. Sara looked up at her, one hand held in mid-air, reaching for the washcloth. "Sara, come on, let's get you out of here so you can get some rest.." Catherine told her. She drained the water and grabbed the towel she had set out for Sara, draping it around her shoulders and helping her out of the tub. Sara excepted the hand Catherine extended to her to help pull herself up. Catherine winced as she got a full look at the exposed parts of her body- all she could see was bruises, bruises everywhere.

Turning back to the counter, she handed Sara the clothes she had picked out for her. "I'll be outside the door," Catherine told her. "Go ahead and get dressed and then you can get some sleep." Sara nodded slowly and Catherine stepped out to give her some privacy. Sara finally emerged from the bathroom and looked up at Catherine from the damp strands of hair that were in her face. "Come on," Catherine said quietly, leading her into the living room. Sara followed her with both arms wrapped tightly around herself.

"You can sleep here tonight," Catherine told her. Sara nodded slowly, sitting down on the couch and looking at the floor. Sara seemed to be in another place and time at the moment- she wasn't responded verbally, only physically. "There's some extra blankets in the hallway closet," Catherine told her. "Go ahead and try to get some sleep," Catherine said. "I'll be just down the hall if you need me," Catherine told her. Sara obeyed, slowly lying down on the couch against the pillows. Catherine pulled the blanket over her as Sara closed her eyes. Catherine smiled a little and walked down the hallway to her bedroom.

Collapsing on her bed, she sighed deeply. She was definetly going to have trouble falling asleep that night, but she just hoped to god Sara would get some rest, even if she didn't sleep a wink. Closing her eyes, she was surprised to find herself falling into a deep sleep.

She woke up when she heard it. The most blood-curdling scream she had ever heard in her life. She quickly sat up and threw the covers off of her, running through the doorway to the living room. Lying there on the couch, Sara was thrashing violently, whimpering and whispering things incoherently. Catherine walked over to her slowly, kneeling down beside her. "Sara," Catherine said to try and wake her up. The brunette did not wake, and she continued to thrash on the couch. Catherine knew if she didn't do something quickly Sara ran the risk of hurting herself, so she grabbed both of her arms and held onto them tightly.

"Sara, wake up," Catherine said in a louder tone. Sara still did not wake, and only began to thrash against Catherine. Catherine moved out of the way quickly to avoid being scratched in the face. "Sara, wake up!" she yelled.

Finally, her eyes popped open and she looked aroud quickly for the voice. She looked at the dark figure of Catherine sitting next to her, holding her arms in place. "Cath.." she whispered.

"It's okay Sara, you had a nightmare," Catherine whispered, brushing a strand of hair away from her face, which was now damp with sweat.

"Cath...no...he-"

"Shh..." Catherine said. "Shh...it's okay, he's not here. You're safe," she told her.

Sara looked up at her and just slowly nodded before burying herself in the older woman's arms. Catherine put a hand on her back, rubbing it softly as Sara cried into her shoulder. "Shh...shh, it's okay," Catherine whispered.

Sara continue to sob into her shoulder for a few more moments before her breaths slowed down and she fell limp in Catherine's arms.


	4. Fright Night

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, guys:P**

Catherine looked down at Sara in panic. She couldn't have fallen back asleep, she must've passed out. Catherine looked up only in time to see her tired daughter standing in the hallway of her home, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and yawning. "Mom, what's going on?" Lindsey asked. "Why is Sara here?"

Catherine did not want her daughter to panic, but she needed to get Sara out of there and to a hospital quickly. "Lindsey, I want you to get the phone and call Grandma! Tell her to come pick you up!" Catherine said. Looking down at the coffee table, she noted her cell phone lying face-down. Throwing it open, she dialed in 9-1-1.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?" the operator on the other end of the phone asked.

Catherine quickly explained to the woman on the other end of the phone the situation and gave her her address.

"Thank you, an ambulance is being sent," the woman said before hanging up.

Catherine shoved her phone in her pocket and looked back at Sara, slowly setting her back down on the couch. Her eyes were closed and the only indication that she was alive was the slow, steady rise and fall of her chest.

"Sara, wake up honey," Catherine told her, putting a hand on her forehead and rubbing it softly. "Sara, come on," Catherine said, kneeling down beside her. Sara's eyes stayed close and she made no movements. Catherine, her breathing becoming more rapid, turned to see Lindsey running to her.

"Mom, Grandma's coming, but she wants to know why.." she said, holding the cordless phone in her hand.

Catherine sighed in annoyance, taking the phone from her daughter. "What is it, Mom?" she asked. "No, Lindsey's fine. Yes, I'm okay too. What? No I do not have a man over here! It's two in the morning, for god's sake! No! Just come and get Lindsey and take her to school later! I'll need you to pick her up too, I don't know how long I'll be gone. Bye," Catherine said, slamming the phone down on the table.

Lindsey watched in shock as her mother yelled at her own mother and then slammed the phone down. Walking over to her, Lindsey asked, "Mom, what's happening? Where are you going?"

Catherine turned to her daughter. "Everything's okay, Linds, I just need to get Sara to a hospital," she said, looking back down at her friend.

"Hospital?" Lindsey asked. "Why? Is she okay?" she asked, her little face crinkling in a frown, her eyebrows drooping.

"Yes, she's okay, Lindsey, everything's going to be okay," Catherine said as she heard the sirens of the ambulance outside. She ran to the front door when the EMTs knocked and quickly let them in.

"But Mom--" Lindsey said.

"Lindsey I can't talk right now!" Catherine said quickly, running to show the EMTs where Sara was. Lindsey stayed in the entryway, trying to get a straight answer from her mother. Catherine led the EMTs into the living room and they slowly lifted Sara onto a stretcher, covering her in a white hospital issue blanket and running back out the door.

"Mom!" Lindsey yelled, finally stopping Catherine when she got to the door.

"Be good for Grandma, Lindsey," Catherine said, kneeling down in front of her daughter and kissing her forehead. "Don't fight with her and go to her house after school and do your homework," Catherine told her, running outside. Lindsey followed her, trailing right behind her as she made her way to the ambulance.

"Mom!" Lindsey yelled. She still had no idea what was going on or why Sara had to go to the hospital in the first place.

Catherine jumped inside the ambulance, but poked her head out one more time before the doors closed. "Don't fight with that boy at school!" she yelled before the doors slammed and the ambulance drove off.

Catherine's mother drove up to the house and stopped the car. Throwing her door open, she ran to Lindsey, watching as the ambulance drove off. "Lindsey, what's going on?" she asked, kneeling down in front of her and putting her hands on her shoulders.

"I don't know, Grandma," Lindsey told her.

Catherine's mother sighed, shaking her head. "Catherine, what are you up to now?" she said under her breath as she lowered her head.

Inside the ambulance, the EMTs were working hard to try and find out what was wrong with her. "Vitals are stable," one of them said. Another one of them nodded and started talking. All Catherine heard was 'possible trauma' and 'stitches', as she looked back and forth from each EMT to the other to try and find out what was wrong. Looking down at Sara, she held her friend's hand tightly as they arrived at the hospital and the ambulance doors were thrown open.

"Maam, we're going to need to take her inside," one of the EMTs told her. Catherine just nodded slowly as Sara was jerked away from her and their hands were seperated. Catherine jumped out after the EMTs and followed them inside, running right beside the stretcher they held Sara on. To her surprise, the EMTs let Catherine come into the emergency room with them and they quickly led Sara into a room, laying her down on a white hospital bed.

"Alright, let's get a suture kit in here," one of them said. Catherine had taken a seat in a chair next to Sara's bed and watched as a tiny woman ran off and came back in record time with the white suture kit. The male EMT who had ordered the kit seemed to be in command, and he threw it open. "Get some gauzes and alcohol," he told the tiny woman and she ran to the sink, reaching in the drawers to retrieve the items. The EMT took the items and dabbed some alcohol onto a cotton ball, rubbing it against Sara's forehead to clean a gash Catherine had not seen before.

The pain from the alcohol made Sara wince as she started to wake up. Catherine sighed softly in relief, at least she was coming to. Catherine squeezed her hand tightly as she continued to wake up.

The male EMT set the bloodied cotton ball down and got a fresh gauze, drying the wound. He set the gauzes down and went back to the suture kit. As he was about to start her stitches, Sara's eyes popped open, only to discover the tall male figure hovering above her with his hands reaching for her. Sara screamed, her legs kicking at the people standing around her bed as she shut her eyes tightly, her head shaking back and forth quickly.

The male EMT was caught off-guard and for a moment he turned to Catherine for clarification. Before Catherine could speak, Sara's thrashing increased, and one of her arms ran into a tray set down on the table near her, knocking down various tools to treat her injuries, all of them falling to the floor with a loud 'clank'. "I need some help!" the EMT yelled at the others in the room, who just stared at the scene in front of them.

The EMT grabbed both of Sara's arms, holding them to her sides. This only made her fight against them harder, and three other people in the room held down her legs. "Can we get a sedative?" the EMT holding her arms down asked. One of them ran out and came back in with a syringe, filling it with a clear liquid. They handed it the other EMT and he took it, tapping the needle.

Catherine watched in horror as her friend was injected with the clear liquid sedative and her thrashing started to subside. Sara's screams died down as the liquid entered her body her body shook, both in fear and exhaustion. Whispering to herself, her death grip on Catherine's hand grew weaker and weaker as the sedative started to take effect, until she finally grew limp, lying on the bed, sweat dripping down her face.

The EMTs in the room were exhausted, panting and looking at one another. "Alright, let's get another suture kit," the male EMT from before said. Soon it was only two people (not including Sara and Catherine) standing in the room, and they finally got to work on the stitches. Six stitches were put in the gash on Sara's forehead. The suture kit was then taken away and they got to work on her other injuries. After dressing some minor injuries, the male EMT turned to their assitant in the room. "We're going to need someone to come in and process her."

Catherine spoke up. "E-Excuse me, I'm from the Catherine Willows, I'm from the Crime Lab...I can do it," Catherine said quietly.

The EMT turned and looked at her. He nodded slowly. "Alright." He walked out, as did his assistant, and came back in with the necessary supplies she would need for processing her friend.

"Thank you.." Catherine said quietly. Thank you? Thank you for what? Truly, Catherine did not know why she just thanked some guy in a hospital for handing her a sexual assault kit. Sighing deeply, she over at Sara as she walked to the sink, slipping on a pair of latex gloves to get back into full-CSI mode. Catherine was now slapping herself in the face for letting her take a bath. She didn't think about that before- she saw how hard Sara was scrubbing, and not only that, but the water could've taken away some potential evidence.

Catherine walked over to her friend and pulled her chair closer to the bed as she slowly grabbed her hand and scraped under her fingernails. Not much to her surprise, Catherine lifted many skin cells from underneath her friend's nails. "That's my girl," Catherine said quietly. She knew Sara well enough to know that she was not going to let anything happen to herself without first putting up a fight. Not only was it her instinct, but she was a CSI, and she knew that physical evidence meant a lot.

Catherine finished scraping under her fingernails and grabbed a swab, opening her mouth and getting a saliva sample. Funny, Catherine thought- saliva was the only thing she knew that really got to her friend. She could process the contents of a victim's stomach or search through seven-month-old human soup without trouble, but saliva was the only thing that she knew got to her.

Catherine put the swab in its box, grabbing the black marker and writing on the white box as she set it back down on the table containing the rest of the tools for the examination. She grabbed some more swabs and ran them over her wrists, though she wasn't sure what would come up after the bath, and set them back in their rightful places when she was finished. She grabbed a comb and combed out her hair, finding only a few small fibers here and there. Finishing that up, she winced as she determined what the last part of the exam was. Walking to the foot of the bed, she turned to the door and opened it, looking outside. She wasn't going to be able to do this. Not her friend. She couldn't. Walking outside, she asked for a female nurse to come in and finish the rest. Catherine went to the elevators and went downstairs to the cafeteria to get a cup of coffee. She needed to clear her mind.

After getting a cup of coffee, Catherine sat down at a table in the hospital cafeteria, setting her steaming styrofoam cup down in front of her. With a deep sigh, she took her cell phone out of her pocket. Running her fingers over the buttons, she got up and walked outside. She dialed Grissom's number first.

"Grissom," the voice on the other end of the phone said.

Catherine sighed deeply, looking up at the early morning sky with a hand running through her hair. "Gil, it's Catherine. You guys need to come to Desert Palms. It's Sara."


	5. Calling the Team

**A/N: Again, thanks for all the reviews! You guys are awesome :)**

Catherine sighed after she finished the phone call, shoving her cell phone back into her pocket and walking back into the hospital cafeteria with her coffee. Sitting down at a small table by the window, she lowered her head. Why was this happening? How could it happen? Why now? And why Sara?

Catherine felt the tears forming in her eyes. She couldn't imagine how Sara must've felt after it happened over twenty years ago. She could see her, sitting on the floor curled into a ball with tears running down her cheeks. She could almost hear the pitiful little sobs escaping the imagined form of her friend and see her body racking with each new set of cries.

"Miss?" came a woman from behind the cafeteria's counter's voice.

Catherine looked up quickly at the woman, sniffling. "Yes?"

"Would you like a tissue?" the woman asked.

Catherine blinked. She hadn't even noticed she had been crying and she wiped a tear away, taking smeared mascara with it. "Thank you.." Catherine said quielty, taking the tissue from the woman. She dabbed at her eyes and composed herself as she waited for the rest of the team to arrive.

Nick was the first to come. He ran through the doors looking around. He was about to go to the elevators when he saw Catherine inside the cafeteria with red, puffy eyes. He ran over to her. "Cath? Where's Sara? What's going on?" he asked.

"Nick..." Catherine said quietly. "I don't know if I should tell you."

"Please Cath," Nick said. "I need to know, she's my friend."

Catherine sighed deeply, lowering her head. "Get a cup of coffee and take a seat, this may take a while," she said.

Nick just nodded and did as she said to, taking a cup of coffee. Setting some money on the counter of the cafeteria, he took a seat across from Catherine. "Alright, Cath. What's up?"

Catherine sighed, looking up at Nick. "You have noticed how she's been acting lately, right?"

Nick shrugged. "She was acting normally to me, she might've lost a few pounds, but I didn't see anything strange about the way she was acting."

Catherine sighed. "I guess I was the only one who noticed it. Alright...Nick..when Sara was younger, her parents weren't really..."

"Supportive?" Nick asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

"That's one way to put it..." Catherine sighed. "Alright...Nick, her...father was abusive. He hit both his wife and his daughter."

"He hit Sara?" Nick asked, setting his cup down on the table. "How could...a father do that to their own child?"

Catherine rubbed her head. "He was a drunk..." she said. "One night...her mother killed him. She went into foster care," Catherine told him.

Nick sighed deeply, looking down at his cup. "That must've been so hard.."

"She told me that her foster parents were nice people, that they always kept her laughing." More tears formed in Catherine's eyes as she neared the part of the story that she dreaded having to tell. "She got a foster brother...everything seemed okay until her foster parents left one day, they needed to go somewhere."

Nick just nodded as she continued, noticing the tears form in her eyes.

"She was alone with her foster brother. He..." Catherine's voice started to break. "He raped her, Nick," Catherine whispered as the tears started to fall down her face.

"Bastard.." Nick whispered, his hand balling into a fist. "And...now?" he asked, looking up at her with wide eyes.

"The rape kit was just finished," she said quietly, wiping at her eyes.

"Oh man.." Nick said, looking down at the floor. "I mean...I..had no idea," Nick said. "I just can't believe.."

"Can't believe what?" Warrick asked, walking into the cafeteria with his hands in the pockets of his sport jacket. "It's lookin' mighty serious up in here...what's going on?" Warrick asked, looking down at Catherine.

Catherine stood up and buried herself in Warrick's arms. His eyes widened a bit and he took his hands out of his pockets, putting both hands on her back. "What's going on?" he asked quietly.

"He raped her, Warrick!" Catherine said.

"What?" Warrick said. "Sara? Who?" he said. "Give me the name and I swear I'll kill that son-of-a-bitch."

"Catherine.." Grissom said from across the cafeteria. "Come with me, please," he told her, motioning for her to follow him. Catherine just nodded and walked off to follow Grissom, leaving Nick to explain everything to Warrick.

"What is it, Gil?" Catherine asked. "News about Sara?"

Grissom nodded a little. "Yes...I just had a nurse come up to me and tell me that they did not find any signs of sexual assault."

Catherine sighed deeply in relief, stopping to lean against the wall of the hallway leading to the elevators.

"But Catherine," Grissom said again. "I need you to tell me what's going on."

Catherine looked up at Grissom. "Sara's foster brother raped her when she was younger, and...he's back, Gil,"

Grissom looked up at Catherine. "Can we see her?"

Catherine sighed. "I'm not sure if she's ready," Catherine said. "I don't mean to offend you guys, but she freaked when a male doctor was trying to treat her injuries."

Grissom nodded slowly. "I understand. I'll get Warrick, Nick, and I'll call Greg. We'll start processing her apartment, see what we can find, and..." He hesitated on the last part. "We'll have the kit processed as well."

"Thank you Gil," Catherine said.

"No need to thank me, you can thank me when we catch this guy," Grissom said, turning around and walking off. Catherine turned back to the elevators and stepped inside, heading up to the second floor. When the doors opened, she stepped out and walked off to Sara's room. She stepped inside and took her seat in the chair next to Sara's bed. She couldn't help but grab onto her friend's hand and squeeze tightly.

"They're looking for him, Sara," Catherine said. "They're looking for him."

Warrick and Nick had gotten into their cars to head to Sara's apartment. Grissom had told them to go over and process her apartment to see what they could find. They arrived and got out of their cars, heading up to the apartment complex. They were surprised to be greeted by Brass, who brushed a piece of lint away from his dress jacket and sighed as they arrived with their kits. "Gil called me and said to come over to Sara's apartment. He explained what happened," he said quietly. Slowly, he reached for his gun in its holster on his hip. "Let me go in first and clear it to make sure he's not still here," he told them.

Warrick and Nick nodded and set their kits down by the door as Brass kicked the door down. He quickly ran inside. With his torch and gun in front of him, he scanned the apartment for any trace of the guy. When his search came up empty, he walked out of the building putting his gun back in its holster. "It's all yours," Brass told them. "But keep in mind that it's pretty nasty in there."

Warrick nodded and stepped inside first, clicking his maglite on. Nick walked in after him and ran his flashlight over the walls and floor. There were picture frames on the floor, the glass shattered and laying in a messy pile around them. There was a chair turned over followed by a small end-table. Nick sighed. "The guy was definetly here," he said quietly.

"Yeah," Warrick said. "Let's go check the bedroom," he said quietly. Both Nick and Warrick walked into the bedroom, cracking the door open slowly as they stepped inside. They flashed their lights around the walls- it looked just as torn up as the other parts of the building. Nick noticed a few blood droplets near the door.

"Hang on," Nick said. "Don't move for a second," he told Warrick, taking pictures of the droplets before taking some samples.

"I hope those don't belong to who I think they do," Warrick sighed, walking further into the room.

"Sara's a fighter, it wouldn't surprise me if these belong to our perp," Nick said.

Warrick just nodded as he knelt down beside the bed. "Nick, get a shot of this," he told him, flashing his light down at the floor.

"What is it?" Nick asked, walking over and kneeling down beside him. He snapped a photo and then lifted it up with his gloved hand. "Is that a piece of her shirt?" Nick asked quietly.

"I think so," Warrick said. There was a long silence before Warrick spoke again. "Let's bag it and take this stuff back to the lab. Tell Brass to tape off the room," he said, standing up and walking out of the room.

Grissom arrived back at the lab and got out of his SUV quickly. Finding Greg standing next to the lab door with his hands in his pockets, fidgeting eagerly, he asked, "Grissom, what's going on?"

Grissom stopped. "Greg, go inside and get a cup of coffee, it's going to be a long night."


	6. Retelling the Story

**A/N: Thanks again guys! You guys are very encouraging :D**

Catherine still sat next to the bed her friend was lying on, holding her hand tightly as she waited for her to wake up. Her eyes began drooping, telling her right away that she needed another cup of coffee. There was something that told her not to leave yet, though, so she stayed by her friend's side trying to stay awake.

The beeping of the heart monitor was reassuring in a strange sense. She watched the line rise and drop as it ran off the screen and the sequence began again. Holding onto Sara's hand, Catherine looked down at her friend. The bruises were still there, they were only becoming more vivid and dark as time passed. Catherine couldn't help but run her fingers over the dark rings on her wrists, she could tell that there were once fingers there. Cold, clammy fingers, wrapping themselves around her delicate wrists...just thinking about it made Catherine shudder.

Catherine looked up at the face of the woman lying in the bed. She looked so frail, as if the slightest touch would make her break. Her bottom lip had stopped bleeding and it was now a light shade of purple around the cut. She had a bruise forming around her left eye and on her forehead the six stitches from before were in place. Catherine sighed deeply, lowering her head. Why would someone do such a thing? Of all the years Catherine had worked her job she still did not know why people did the things she did.

Catherine could just see Sara walking down that hallway, just as she had told her before, walking into her foster brother's room and looking from left-to-right for him, only to discover him nowhere in sight. Even though Catherine had not been given a full description of the guy yet, she could still see him standing behind the door looking at Sara and waiting for that moment. That moment where he would strike.

Thank god Grissom said the nurses and doctors had not found any signs of sexual assault. Catherine had been so worried that the guy had done it to Sara again, she was so glad that he had been unsuccessful. But...this guy seemed persistent, he had called Sara numerous amounts of times even when she was at work to threaten her, to raise fear up inside of her. Sara told Catherine herself that he was back to 'finish what he started'. Catherine did not like the sound of that, not one bit. She wanted to make sure Sara was safe, she had gone through enough and Catherine didn't want anything else to happen to her.

Her little thought bubble popped when she felt a light pressure on her hand. Her head immediately popped back up and she looked down at her hand. The hand she held was squeezing her own gently and she looked up at Sara's face. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times, trying to get used to the light in the room. She turned her head to Catherine, looking at her, her eyes opened in tiny slits. Squeezing her hand gently again, she opened her mouth slowly and spoke.

"Cath?" she said quietly.

"Yeah Sara?" Catherine asked.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You had a nightmare at my place and then you passed out...I called an ambulance and they brought you inside, but as soon as you woke up and saw the male doctor you started screaming. They had to knock you out so they could treat your injuries."

Sara flinched, looking down at the white sheets covering her up. "Oh..." She sighed deeply, looking up at Catherine.

"I called Grissom and the guys, they're heading over to your apartment right now."

Sara blinked. "You...called the guys?"

Catherine nodded slowly. "Yes...I'm sorry, but Sara, we need to catch this guy."

Sara sighed again. "I should never have brought any of you into this, I should've just stayed home after.." Sara didn't finish.

"After what, Sara? I know he didn't...rape you again, the doctors didn't find any signs of sexual assault..." Catherine said quietly. "Can...you tell me what happened when he came to see you?"

Sara looked up at Catherine. Here she was in the victim's shoes. Too many times had she been to a hospital to get a statement from a rape victim, sitting in the exact same chair Catherine was sitting in now. But now, she was in another position. She was the one in the bed with the IV drips connected into her arms, she was the one on the heart monitor. Slowly, she just nodded. "Alright."

Catherine nodded slowly and pulled her chair closed to her, holding onto her hand tightly. "Take as long as you need, I'm not going anywhere."

Sara nodded and sighed deeply, laying her head back on the bed. Closing her eyes, she began to tell Catherine what happened.

_Grissom had shooed her out of the lab. It was the end of shift, though her case wasn't finished yet and she wanted to continue working on it, mainly because she didn't want to have to go home and face everything once again. Reluctantly, she walked out of the lab after making a brief stop in the locker room and went to her car, opening the door and getting inside. She closed the door and put the key in the ignition, sighing deeply as she buckled herself in and backed out of the Las Vegas Crime Lab parking lot._

_She didn't turn on the radio, she wasn't in the mood for music that day. She got on the road and stopped at a red-light. Setting one hand in her lap, she kept another on the steering wheel and debated on actually going straight home or stopping by the liquor store by her apartment complex. Even going to a bar would be better than going home to her cold, empty apartment. The light turned green and she moved along the line of cars. Deciding against it, she headed to her apartment. She needed some rest anyways, and if she was lucky, she would fall asleep quickly and not give her mind time to bring up bad memories._

_She pulled into her apartment complex. She got out of her car and locked it up, heading up to her apartment. She slid her hand into her pocket and took out her keys, unlocking the door and stepping inside. Closing the door, she threw her keys on the kitchen counter and headed to the answering machine. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw that she had some missed messages. Not wanting to wait and find out who they were from, she quickly hit the 'delete' button and tried to get the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach to go away._

_"It's nothing," she told herself. "You're just being paranoid, it's not him...it's not him, don't think about it."_

_She jumped when she heard something behind her. Turning around, she sighed in relief to see nothing behind her. She walked out of the kitchen to the living room, but before she reached the living room she spotted a dark figure jumping at her from the corner of her eye._

_Letting out a whimper when she was slammed against the wall, she felt her arms being held above her head. Fingers wrapped themselves around her wrists as she opened her eyes, only to discover who her attacker was by the haunting green eyes that stared directly into hers. His face was centimeters away from hers, his lips curled in a grin as he watched her struggle against his strong grip on her._

_She shook her head back and forth. She wasn't going to let this happen again. She head-butted him and he released her, growling in pain as she ran off. "Get back here!" he yelled, running after her. She runned as fast as she could and only stopped when he had tackled her to the floor. "That's better," he said quietly, looking down at her. "Don't make me angry, Sara," he told her._

_Sara swung at him, her arm connecting with his face. She quickly got up, but he followed right after her and slammed her into another wall, almost sending her to the ground again. She got up and ran off again, looking back to see him trailing behind her, dangerously close. He put his hands on her shoulders and shoved her through a door. She landed on the floor of her bedroom, feeling a drop of blood fall from her lip. He quickly lunged at her and landed on top of her, slamming her wrists to her sides as he looked into her eyes. His right hand tore at her shirt, pulling a piece of it off and throwing it to the side._

_"You know what? We'll finish this later," he said, leaning down and kissing her on the cheek. "Bye," he said quietly, getting up off of her and walking out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him._

Sara looked up at Catherine in terror as she finished telling her what happened. "Thank you Sara," Catherine told her. "Thank you, you were a lot of help. We're going to catch him."

"Matthew.." Sara whispered. "That's his name. Matthew Dillan."

Catherine nodded slowly. "Why don't you try to get some sleep now?"

"I can feel his hands on me.." Sara said. "Why won't he stop touching me?"

"Shh, Sara it's okay," Catherine said. "It's okay...just close your eyes and go to sleep."

Sara just nodded slowly and fell back to sleep holding onto Catherine's hand tightly.

Grissom sat down at the break room table, holding his mug of coffee in his hands. Nick and Warrick had come back to the lab and were working on the things they brought back from Sara's apartment, right now Grissom was waiting for the DNA results of the epotheleoles under Sara's fingernails to come back.

"Alright, so we've got a piece of her blouse.." Nick said in the layout room where he, Warrick, and Greg were going over evidence. "We've confirmed that it matches the shirt Sara wore over to Catherine's house, Catherine brought the clothes with her to the hospital and sent them to us with the SAE kit."

Warrick sighed. "Okay...did we find anything on her clothes?"

"Few fibers," Greg said, stepping in. "But they're not much to run on. We did find a hair, though, we sent it to DNA."

"Okay.." Warrick said quietly. "The blood-drops at the scene?" he asked Nick.

"Also sent them to DNA to be tested," Nick said.

"Alright, so right now we just need to wait on the DNA results," Warrick said, taking a seat.

"Pretty much.." Nick said, sitting down across from Warrick. Greg took a seat at the end of the table.

"Grissom told me what's going on.." Greg said. "I just...can't believe.."

"I know," Nick said. "None of us can."

"Damn," Warrick said. "How was she able to keep that all inside?"

Nick sighed. "I don't know.."

Greg looked over at the two. "Sara's a strong woman, but..she doesn't like people to see her vulnerable."

"Why?" Nick asked. "I mean...we're her friends, doesn't she know that we're all here for her, no matter what?"

Warrick sighed. "Maybe she doesn't."

The room fell silent and they all pondered this for a moment. Greg had always looked up to Sara. She was there to encourage him when he made a mistake and help him back on his feet again when he fell. She was his mentor, she taught him everything he knew.

Warrick had not gotten off to a great start with Sara, but as the years went by they became great friends. They were always joking and laughing with each other.

And Nick had always thought of Sara like a little sister. They were close, they enjoyed working cases with each other and piecing together the pieces of the puzzles they were working on together.

And none of them could stand to see their friend in such a vulnerable state, in so much pain.

"Guys," came Grissom's voice from the doorway of the layout room.

"What is it, Gris?" Warrick asked.

"DNA came back. CODIS kicked out a name."


	7. Knock on the Door

**A/N: Thankies again:)**

Catherine walked through her home. She was trying her best to be quiet, Sara was in her bedroom asleep. She had been asleep soundly for about fourty-five minutes, that was the longest she had slept without waking up from a nightmare. Catherine walked into the kitchen and reached into one of the cupboards, taking the bag of coffee down and pouring some into a coffee filter. Shutting the lid on the coffee maker, she watched as small drops of coffee filled the clear pot and she walked over to the kitchen table and took a seat.

Catherine sighed deeply, looking down at the table. When the hospital had let Sara leave, Catherine told her right away that she was going to be staying with her. Sara did not protest- her apartment was a crime-scene and she did not feel comfortable let alone safe staying alone at some hotel on the Strip. Catherine couldn't help but feel like she had a duty to protect her friend...she couldn't stand to see her so terrified...to see her so hurt. It pained Catherine to see her that way, and she hated the person who had made her this way with a passion. She felt like she would kill the person the second she laid eyes on them. She could feel a small flame of anger raise up inside of her. She was not going to let this person hurt Sara again.

The smell of fresh coffee soon filled the house and Catherine walked over to the coffee machine. Turning it off, she pulled out a mug from one of the cupboards and poured herself a cup. She walked back over to the table and sat down, taking in the aroma and warmness from the single cup. Slowly rising the cup to her lips, she took a sip. Putting the cup down on the table, she sighed deeply. She propped her head up on one of her arms, her elbow resting on the table as she looked forward at the wall in front of her. Turning her head to the side slightly, she noticed a figure in the corner of her eye. She turned and found Sara standing in the doorway of the kitchen, staring at her.

"Sara.." Catherine said quietly, standing up. "You should be asleep, you really need your rest.."

"Cath, I should go. No, I need to go," Sara said.

"Where?" Catherine asked in confusion.

"Somewhere...just..not here. I can't stay with you anymore, I can't be around you guys.."

"Why, Sara?" Catherine asked.

"Because...because I know that..if I stay with you he might hurt you! I don't want that to happen! And I'm just holding you guys back, you shouldn't have to worry about me, I'm not worth it!"

"Sara," Catherine said. "That's not true.."

"I'm not worth it," Sara said again. "I come from a broken family. My father cared so little about me he hit me. I was so careless that my own foster brother raped me. I'm not worth any of your guys' time or care.."

"Sara, stop it. None of that was your fault. We all care about you, we all love you. And you are worth it. And you know what else? We know we don't have to help you."

"Then..why are you?" Sara whispered.

"Because we love you and we want to make sure you're okay...we care about you, Sara. We couldn't live the rest of our lives if we didn't do anything to help."

"I'd rather die then have something happen to you guys.." Sara said quietly.

"Sara," Catherine said. "We're all going to be fine. Nothing is going to happen to us," Catherine said. "But if we don't do anything to protect you.." Catherine said. "We're not going to be okay because then we'll all know that we didn't do anything to help you. We care about you too much, Sara," Catherine said, walking over to her and wrapping her arms around her.

"No one loves me, Matthew made that quite clear," Sara said between tears.

"Sara.." Catherine said. "We all love you for who you are."

Sara laughed bitterly. "What the hell is that, exactly?"

Catherine rubbed her back softly. "It's what makes you Sara. Your sense of humor, your intelligence, your kindess, it's all there, Sara," Catherine said. "All in one neat little package," she said with a smile.

Sara smiled a little. "Thanks Cath."

Catherine smiled back. "No problem," she said, patting her back softly. "Now you should get back to sleep now, god knows you need your rest."

"Cath...I can't sleep..I've been trying.."

"You mean you haven't slept at all since we got here?"

Sara just shook her head. "I tried.."

Catherine smiled. "Alright, go back to the bedroom and I'll be right back." Sara just watched as Catherine disappeared around a corner. Shrugging, she walked back down the hallway and into Catherine's bedroom. She sat in the middle of the bed and pulled the sheets over her as she waited for Catherine to come back. When she finally did, she came back with a large grin on her face and her arms behind her back.

"What did you get?" Sara asked quietly.

Catherine smiled and showed her what was behind her back. It was an old brown teddy bear wearing a black hat and matching bowtie. Sara couldn't help but giggle. "Presenting Mr. Timtums!" Catherine said with a smile. "Helps Lindsey sleep when she has nightmares," she said, walking over to the side of the bed Sara was lying on. "Hope he can be of service."

Sara giggled as Catherine handed her the teddy bear. "Well tell Lindsey I said thank you."

Catherine smiled. "She doesn't have to know about this, besides, she'll kill me if she finds out I told someone about her still sleeping with it." Sara laughed again as Catherine turned to head out the door.

"Cath?" Sara asked.

Catherine turned back around. "What is it, Sara?"

Sara shot her a small smile. "Thank you. For everything."

Catherine just smiled. "Don't mention it. Get some rest now," she told her, turning and walking out of the room. She walked down the hallway into the living room and sat down in one of the lounge chairs. Closing her eyes, she sighed deeply. She was utterly exhausted, she hadn't slept that much the last two days. Completely ignoring her unfinished cup of coffee in the kitchen, she fell asleep.

"Who's the lucky guy?" Warrick asked.

Grissom looked down at the paper he held in his hand. "His name is Matthew Dillan. He has a place out in Henderson just off of Monte Carlo Avenue. He's got a record."

"Is Brass bringing him in?" Nick asked.

"He's on his way there."

"Good," Greg said.

"Go get a cup of coffee guys, sit down for a little bit. I'll page you all when Brass brings him in," Grissom said. Grissom looked at the three and then walked off.

Catherine slept soundly for a few minutes until there came a knock at the door. Standing up and stretching, she walked over to the door and unlocked it, expecting Nick or Warrick.

The person behind the door was not someone Catherine had seen before.


	8. Unwelcomed Visitor

**A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews, guys! This is the more 'action-packed' chapter :)**

Catherine opened the door up, expecting to see Nick or Warrick, or even the familiar figure of Greg, but the person she saw behind the door was not someone she had seen before. The person behind the door was a tall man, he wore a blue t-shirt that showed off his muscular build. He had short blonde hair with faint strands of brown in it and he looked down at Catherine with his piercing green eyes. He also had a bruise on his forehead that Catherine took note of right away.

"Can I help you?" Catherine asked. This guy was giving Catherine a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. He was a complete stranger for one, and also, she felt like his eyes were digging into her head like daggers. His eyes were a deep green color, Catherine felt as though she would see them in her sleep.

"I'm looking for Sara Sidle," he said.

Catherine raised a brow, tilting her head a bit. Slowly reaching to her right and reaching for her gun on the table by the door, she asked, "And why is that?"

"I'm an old friend," he said with a smile. "I know she's probably been expecting to see me for some time."

"Oh?" Catherine asked.

"Yes."

"Well..." Catherine said. "You know, I really don't let in random people who walk over here from off the street, especially rapists," she said, cocking her gun and holding it in front of her, pointing it straight at him. "I'm with the LVPD, so get your ass out of here," she said firmly.

He laughed. "Sara sure has made some interesting friends."

"We're not her friends," Catherine hissed. "We're family."

"Hmm, you know, I do recall that I was once her foster brother?"

"Don't give me that crap."

"No, really, we were bound by law," he said with another smile.

"Just get out of here before you do something you'll regret," Catherine said.

He smiled. "I would put the gun down before you do something _you_ will regret."

"Uh-uh, I don't think so. And believe me, if I pull the trigger I won't regret it. Get out of here, Mr. Dillan."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ms. Willows," he said, bowing slightly. "Though..I don't really think it would work between us."

"Get the hell out of here," Catherine said, raising the gun higher.

"So, where is little Sara?" Matthew asked.

Catherine didn't even mean for it to happen, but she turned her head to the right and looked down the hallway where Sara was sleeping. Caught off-guard, she felt herself being shoved backwards as Matthew entered through the front door. She landed on the floor and pointed the gun at him quickly, pulling the trigger. Hearing just a click, she forgot that the safety was on and cursed as she saw him walking through the living room.

"You stay away from her!" Catherine yelled, running to him. She jumped on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. He stopped momentarily, trying to shake her off of him, failing to break her firm grip. He slammed his back against the wall and Catherine gasped as air was knocked out of her. She fell to the floor and just watched as he slowly walked down the hallway.

"You get back here!" she gasped, slowly crawling into the hallway after him trying to find her breath. She watched as he made his way into the bedroom, completely ignoring her. Catherine could feel her heart racing as he walked over to the side of the bed Sara was lying on and looked down at her. She got to her knees in the doorway of the bedroom, looking up at him. "Leave her alone!" she yelled.

"My, my, how she's grown.." he said quietly, looking down at her sleeping form. He slowly lifted the sheets up and looked down at her breasts. "I'm sorry, how _we_ have grown!" Sara's eyes popped open at the sound of his voice and she stared up at him with wide eyes as she started to hyperventilate. He looked down at the teddy bear by her and laughed. "Sara, I thought you've always been more of a hippo person. Blue, if I remember correctly.."

Sara lay petrified by fear, staring up at him as Catherine sat in the doorway. He slowly leaned down over her so that his face was centimeters away from hers. "Sara, have you been looking forward to my return?" he whispered, looking straight into her eyes. Sara wanted to gag- those were the same green eyes that had haunted her for over 20 years. "I sure was," he told her, reaching a hand down to her.

"Don't touch me!" Sara yelled.

He frowned. "Now, now, you know what happened last time in that alley all those years ago, you remember? When you made me mad? I wouldn't want that to happen again," he told her.

Sara quickly rolled to the other side of the bed and got to her feet, turning around to face him. "Just...leave," she said quietly, her bottom lip quivering slightly. She could feel her hands balling into fists and her heart pounding loudly in her ears as he walked around the foot of the bed.

"You know, Sara.." he said, ignoring her last comment. "You may look a bit different on the outside, but on the inside you're just the same."

"I'm not a little girl anymore, you can't push me around!"

He lunged at her. She backed up and hit the wall, now she was trapped. He put both his hands near her shoulders so she couldn't escape. "You see, that's where you're wrong, Sara. You're still the same scared little girl you were all those years ago," he said, leaning closer to her. She swung one of her arms at him and he quickly slammed it against her chest, holding onto it tightly. Sara shut her eyes tightly, trying to disappear.

Catherine took a deep breath. Shaking slightly, she got to her feet. She knew she had to do something, she hadn't done anything to help thus far, and she wasn't going to let him get what it was that he wanted. Catherine walked up to him. "Hey asshole," she whispered. He slowly turned his head to look at her, only in time for her fist to connect with his face. He growled in pain and exasperation, releasing Sara and falling backwards.

"You're going to pay for that, you bitch," he hissed, bringing his left arm back to his side after rubbing the bruising skin. He walked toward Catherine. She swung at him, as she had seen Sara do, and quickly decided that this was a bad idea. He wrapped his hand around her arm and she winced. He was stronger than she first thought. "You've interrupted too much," he said, slamming her head-first into the wall in the hallway. Catherine fell to the ground motionless.

"Catherine!" Sara yelled. She ran toward Catherine, but he stopped her before she reached the door, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her to him.

"Now we won't be interrupted," he told her, leaning closer to her and pressing his lips against hers. Carrying her thrashing form away from the door, he forced his tongue into her mouth as he neared the bed. When he reached it he threw her down, slamming her wrists high above her head in a death grip.

"NO!" Sara yelled, trying to kick from underneath him. "Not again!" she whispered.

"Sara...you're such a beautiful woman," he said. "I knew from the first moment I shall you I had to have you, I couldn't let anyone else take you," he whispered. Sara shuddered as she felt his breath on her neck. "And we are both over 18 now, dear, this can be legal," he said quietly. Sara just stared at him, whimpering quietly. "So, shall we?" Not giving Sara time to speak, his free hand started to explore.

_I'm not a little girl anymore,_ Sara told herself. _I'm not, he can't do this to me anymore..._ Her body tensed as she felt his hand slide up the fabric of her shirt. _He can't torment you anymore, you're not a weak little girl._ "Get...off of me," Sara whispered.

"What was that?" he asked, his hand still travelling up her shirt.

"Get off of me!" she yelled.

He slapped her. "Like I said, Sara...don't make my angry."

Sara swallowed hard, as she turned her head away from him. She looked through the doorway of the bedroom only to discover Catherine no longer laying on the floor. She whimpered as she felt her head being jerked back to look in front of her.

"Look at me," he hissed. Sara shut her eyes tightly. He punched her this time, and she let out a groan. "I said look at me!" he yelled.

"And she said no," came Catherine's voice to their left. She cocked her gun and pointed it directly at him, wiping a drop of blood away from her forehead.

"Cath.." Sara whispered.

"Get off of her before I blow your brains out," Catherine said firmly.


	9. Never Letting Go

**A/N: Thanks guys! huggles all **

Matthew laughed, looking over at Catherine. "Sweetheart, if the gun didn't work this time do you really think it will work this time?"

"Get off of her. Now," Catherine said, keeping the gun trained on him.

He laughed again. "You know what? With that little thing you almost look threatening."

"Get OFF of her. NOW," Catherine repeated, louder, taking a step toward the two.

Sara watched Catherine from under him, wincing as he shifted his grip on her arms. His knuckles were turning white from his tight grip on her wrists and she whimpered as she felt his nails digging into her skin. She watched as he turned his head back down to look at Sara.

"You'd better tell your little friend to watch what she says," he told her. "Or this might be more painful than it already will be.." he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling something out. Sara felt her blood run cold when she saw it- a flash of silver. It was a knife.

"That's it!" Catherine yelled, pulling the trigger on her gun. A shot rang through the entire house as he fell over onto the floor motionless as the bullet made contact with his chest. Catherine wasted no time and ran over to Sara, setting the gun on the bed and checking to make sure she was alright. "Are you okay?" Catherine asked, looking down at her. Sara's wrists were still above her head and Catherine took her hands in hers, setting them down at her sides. "Honey it's going to be okay, the police are on their way," she told her.

"Cath.." Sara whispered, looking down at the floor where Matthew had collapsed.

"What is it?" Catherine asked, following her gaze down to the floor. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him no longer lying there and no pool of blood on the floor. "Where did he go?" she cursed under her breath.

"Miss me?" he asked from behind her, holding the knife up to her throat. Catherine froze when he heard his voice, her hand slowly reaching for her gun. "Don't," he warned, grabbing her gun from the bed and throwing it to the side. "I was prepared," he whispered into her ear, throwing his jacket off to reveal a bullet-proof vest.

Catherine shut her eyes tightly. _This is it,_ she thought. _I'm sorry, Sara. _She winced as she felt the jagged edge of the blade make a thin slice into the skin on her neck and watched as a small drop of blood dripped onto the floor.

"Let her go," Sara said.

Catherine's eyes popped open, looking down at Sara.

"Let her go. Don't hurt her. She's not the one you want.." she said quietly.

"Sara.." Catherine said slowly. "Don't--"

"Wait a second.." Matthew said. "This is quite amusing, actually. What are you saying, Sara?" he asked her, pressing the knife to Catherine's throat. She winced involuntarilly, hoping Catherine didn't notice so she didn't do anything risky.

"Let Catherine go and..you...can do what you want with me," Sara said quietly.

"Sara.." Catherine said.

"Hmm.." He thought for a minute. "You know what? I actually quite like that arrangement."

"No!" Catherine yelled. "Sara--" she said, trying to convince her otherwise.

Sara just shot her a small smile. "It'll be okay, Cath," she told her.

"Alright..." Matthew said, grabbing firmly onto the back of Catherine's neck. "So...let's take you somewhere you won't be able to interrupt," he said, moving to the closet. He threw the door open and shoved her inside, slamming the door shut and pulling a piece of furniture in front of the door so she couldn't get out.

"Sara!" Catherine yelled, pounding on the door. "Sara, don't do this!"

Sara had taken the opportunity that had arisen and jumped off of the bed, running for the gun. Matthew quickly turned around and saw her reaching for it. She slid onto the floor, her hand centimeters away from the gun when she felt him shove her into the wall.

"That wasn't part of the plan, Sara," he hissed. "But I do like it when you fight back," he smiled. "Makes it a lot more fun for me." Sara shuddered as she watched him pull his knife back out, his other hand holding firmly onto her left shoulder. He ignored the pounding he heard coming from inside the closet and slid the blade under one of the straps on the tank top she was wearing, watching it fall as he sliced it in half. Sara let out a whimper. "This is what you told me I was getting if I let your little friend go," he whispered into her ear.

Sara shut her eyes tightly, swallowing hard. He was right...if this was what it took to keep Catherine safe then she was going to do it...she didn't want to, but she wouldn't be able to stand it if Catherine got hurt anymore.

Catherine was more important.

She tried to keep herself calm as she saw him move the knife down.

Catherine was more important.

She shuddered as she felt the cold metal press against her skin.

Catherine was more important.

She fought back the tears that were forming in her eyes as he put his hand on her right thigh.

Catherine was more important.

As he moved his hand up and down, she bit the inside of her bottom lip, willing herself to be quiet.

But Catherine was more important.

Sara turned her head away, looking at the closet door, where Catherine was trapped inside, pounding and shouting from the inside.

And then the front door of the house was thrown open. The police swarmed inside, Brass in front of them with his gun drawn. They ran to the bedroom and Brass kicked the door open, pointing his gun at Matthew. "Put the knife down!" he shouted.

"She told me this was what I was going to get," he said. "And I'm not going to let anyone interrupt." He stood up and lunged at Brass with the knife in his hand. Brass quickly pulled the trigger, the bullet hitting his chest and he noticed the bullet-proof vest. He fired again, this time hitting him right between the eyes and he collapsed onto the floor, the knife falling from his lifeless hand.

Brass looked down at Sara, who was shaking uncontrollably and looking up at him with fear-filled eyes. He quickly took his jacket off as he holstered his gun, wrapping it around her shoulders. "Hang on Sara," Brass said. "Paramedics are outside. Where's Catherine?" He watched as Sara slowly turned and looked at the closet door. He took the hint and shoved the piece of furniture out of the way, only to be knocked out of the way as the door was thrown open and Catherine stumbled out.

"Sara!" she yelled, quickly running to her side. She wrapped her arms around the younger woman's neck, holding her close and squeezing her tightly. She didn't want to let go. She wasn't going to let go. She had come too close to losing her to let go now. "Sara..." she whispered. "I was so scared for you.."

Sara just nodded slowly as the tears began to run down her cheeks. "I know, Cath. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, it's not your fault," Catherine told her.

Brass but it. "I'm sorry to interrupt," Brass said. "But...you guys should probably go outside and let the paramedics take a look at you two."

Catherine just nodded slowly, looking down at Sara. "Sara? Did you hear that? We need to go outside.."

"Okay..but I don't want you to let go of me," she whispered.

"I won't Sara. I promise."

She was never going to let go again,

Never.


	10. Stand by You

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, guys! Seriously, you're all great **

Catherine sat in the hospital room with Sara laying against her. She felt like she was holding Lindsey, holding the younger woman in her arms, but she wasn't going to let go of her. Sara didn't want her to and she didn't want herself to. Sara was dressed in another white hospital gown so that the doctors could assess her injuries, but so far it just seemed as though she had a few bruises and cuts, thank god.

Catherine looked down at Sara who was lying against her fast asleep. Her head was resting against her chest and her arms were thrown around her waist. Catherine smiled- even when she was asleep she refused to let go of her.

Brass had come in before and informed the pair that Matthew was dead; he died at Catherine's house. That took a lot of weight off of both the woman's shoulders. Shortly after Sara had been administered a sedative to help her fall asleep, and Catherine just hoped that now her colleague could get some much-needed, uninterrupted rest.

Catherine ran her fingers through the younger woman's hair and rubbed her back softly. She knew she was asleep but she still wanted Sara to know that she was there and that she wasn't leaving any time soon. Catherine looked down at her face- she looked so calm as she slept, so peaceful. Catherine smiled- at least now she was getting some rest. Her smile soon faded once she again noticed the purple and black bruises on her face as well as her arms. She sighed deeply, wishing she could just take all of her pain away, but she knew she couldn't.

At that moment, the door to the hospital room was thrown open and in ran Lindsey. She ran to the hospital bed the two were sitting on and she quickly ran to her mother's side.

"Mom, what happened?" she asked. "What's going on? Are you hurt? What's wrong with Sara?"

"Shh..." Catherine whispered. "Sara's just sleeping and I'm okay. Sara's a little hurt but she's going to be okay."

"What happened?" Lindsey asked.

"...Linds, you know how there are some real creeps out there?"

"Yes.."

"Well...this guy...the guy that caused everything..he knew Sara when she was about your age."

"How did he know her?"

"He was...her foster brother."

"Foster brother? Sara was in Foster Care?"

"Yes...her parents weren't the best people.."

"Oh..."

"So...this guy...he hurt her, Linds."

"Why would he hurt her?" Lindsey asked. "Who would want to hurt Sara?"

"He was just a sick person, Lindsey...I don't know why people do things anymore," Catherine sighed.

"So...?" Lindsey prompted for her to continue.

"He came back...he tried to hurt her again, Lindsey," Catherine said.

"Son of a bitch..." Lindsey muttered.

"Lindsey!" Catherine said. "Language! Please!"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine."

Catherine smiled a little, turning back to Sara and again running her fingers through her hair.

"Is she going to be alright?" Lindsey asked.

Catherine nodded. "Yeah, she should be...the doctors said she should be okay.." _Physically, anyway,_ Catherine thought to herself.

Lindsey nodded, looking down at the floor. "Grandma wants to see you."

Catherine sighed deeply. "I'm not leaving Sara alone, I promised her I wasn't going to."

Lindsey smiled. "You really care about her, don't you Mom?"

Catherine nodded. "We all do, Linds. We all do."

Lindsey nodded before opening her mouth wide with a yawn.

"Go ahead and go to Grandma's to get some sleep," Catherine told her. "I'll see you later."

Lindsey just nodded. "Okay..." she said. "'Night, Mom," she said, wrapping her arms tightly around her mother's neck.

"'Night, baby," she said, kissing her forehead.

"Mom..I'm 13," she said.

Catherine smiled. "I know, but you're still my baby."

Lindsey laughed a little. "Okay, see you later. Tell Sara I said hi."

"I will. Bye Linds."

"Bye Mom," Lindsey said walking out of the room.

Catherine sighed, turning back to look down at Sara. She noticed her stirring slightly and she smiled. Soon one of Sara's eyes had cracked open and she took a deep breath, raising her head a bit only to fall back down against Catherine's chest. She shut her eyes tightly sighing. "Cath?"

"Yeah Sara?" Catherine asked.

"Where are we?" she asked quietly.

"We're at a hospital, Sara," Catherine said. "I don't blame you for not knowing, though. The doctors gave you a pretty big dose of sedatives."

"Mm-hmm.." Sara mumbled. "I like hospital drugs."

Catherine laughed a little bit. "Oh, and Lindsey says hi."

"She came by?" Sara asked.

"Yeah, just a minute ago. She was worried about you."

Sara smiled. "She's going to be a mom one day, I can tell."

Catherine grinned. "So, how are you feeling?"

Sara shrugged a little bit. "Okay, I guess," she said. "Little sore. Have you gotten any sleep?"

Catherine shook her head slowly. "No."

"Why?" Sara asked. "You should leave, you need rest.." Even though she really didn't want Catherine to leave.

"Uh-uh," Catherine said. "I'm staying with you. You need someone with you and I promised I wasn't going to leave you."

She smiled a little. "Thanks Cath."

"No problem, now go ahead and go back to sleep," she told her. She watched as Sara slowly closed her eyes again and fell back into a deep sleep. Catherine tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear instinctively as it fell in her face, and fell back against the hospital bed with a sigh, her arms still around Sara. She closed her eyes slowly, falling asleep herself.

She was tired, but she still wasn't going to let go of Sara.


	11. A Stay at Sam Braun's

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, guys! All you guys are great- so encouraging! I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story thus far! This is the last chapter, I hope you guys enjoy it!**

Catherine took Sara out of the hospital the day she was released. She drove to her mother's house and picked Lindsey up and they all headed to a hotel to stay at while their homes were still crime-scenes. They drove along the Strip, looking at the flashing lights and signs coming from hotels and casinos.

"The Lucky Seven?" Catherine asked.

"Crime-scene.." Sara muttered from the front seat.

"The Monaco?" Catherine tried again.

"Crime-scene..." Sara muttered again.

"The Tangiers?"

"Crime-scene..." Sara muttered again.

"God!" Lindsey said. "Isn't there a place in Vegas that hasn't been a crime-scene?"

Sara laughed. "I don't think so," Sara told her. "You'd be surprised."

Catherine sighed. "Alright...well..there is one more option.."

"Oh? And what is that?" Sara asked.

"Dad.." Catherine muttered.

"Catherine," came the voice of Sam Braun- bad-ass casino and hotel owner, multi-billionaire of Vegas. He and Catherine had kind of gotten off to a rocky start...Catherine found out that he was really her father during a murder investigation. That didn't speak father-daughter love right there...though things had gotten a bit better from then on and they had a better relationship than before.

"Sam," Catherine acknowledged him. Sara and Lindsey hung out behind her, looking around the casino at both the drunk and sober who were running around.

"What brings you here?" he asked.

"Sam, I...need a favor of you," Catherine said.

"Sure.." Sam said.

Catherine sighed. "My...house is a crime-scene, something...something happened, to...a..friend," Catherine said, not wanting to mention Sara's name. "We need some place to stay until the investigation is finished," she told him. "We were hoping...that..since every other hotel in Vegas has been a crime-scene...that...you would let us have a room here for a little bit."

Sam nodded slowly. He looked down at Lindsey to Catherine and finally up at Sara. He saw the bruises around her neck and her arms and wrists...this had to be the friend Catherine was talking about. Something had definetly happened, that was for sure, but he wasn't going to stop and ask them a bunch of questions. Instead, with a smile, he asked, "How many rooms?"

Catherine sighed deeply in relief and then considered the question- did she want seperate rooms? No...she didn't think so, at least. She wanted to keep an eye on Lindsey, god-only-knew what her daughter would go around doing if she had her own room and room key, for that matter. She tried to get the image of her daughter dancing on a stage with a bunch of exotic dancers out of her mind. Lindsey wasn't her only concern. She wanted to keep an eye on Sara, and she knew that if she got her her own room that wouldn't be an option...

"One," Catherine said. "One of the larger rooms, if you could, Sam," she asked, her eyes almost pleading with him.

He smiled. "Give me ten minutes," he told her. "Take a seat somewhere, have a drink. I'll be back shortly with the room keys," he told her, walking off. Catherine sighed deeply, looking over at one of the tables.

"Let's take a seat," Catherine told both Lindsey and Sara. They just nodded and sat down at one of the tables, saving a place for Catherine. They all sat down, taking in the lights and the sounds of the casino, watching the people run around with their drinks and their buckets containing their winnings. Lindsey stood up on her seat, smiling as she saw something that caught her eye.

"Look, Mom!" she yelled, pointing to something a ways from them.

"Lindsey, sit down," Catherine said, getting up to put her back on the seat when she saw what her daughter was looking at. "Oh, Linds, please..."

"Look, Mom!" she said again. Now Sara had gotten up off of her seat to see what they were staring at. She giggled a little when she saw- a whole line of exotic dancers got on stage to begin a show. Lindsey found them absolutely mesmerizing as she started at their half-naked forms dancing all over the place.

"Lindsey.." Catherine said, rolling her eyes and putting her back in her seat. Lindsey frowned as she was put back down and they were soon all sitting back down.

"Mom, you didn't dress like that when you were a dancer?" she asked.

"No," Catherine said. "No, Mommy wore something a little cheaper to come by- it's called skin."

Sara laughed as she watched Lindsey roll her eyes at her mother's remark. Soon after the show was over and the line of dancers walked past them. Catherine slowly leaned over to Sara's ear and whispered, "Fifty bucks says those aren't real," Catherine told her, shooting a glance at one of the dancers whose breasts seemed to be abnormally large.

Sara giggled. "I bet they're not."

"What?" Lindsey asked. "What?" she asked again. "What? You think one of the dancers got a boob job? Of course they did, Mom! You did, didn't you?"

"NO!" Catherine yelled. "I did not, thank you very much!"

"Ah..." Lindsey said. She looked over at Sara. "She went for that all-natural theme."

"LINDSEY!" Catherine yelled. Sara just laughed as Sam Braun returned to the group with two room keys.

"Here's the keys," Sam said. Catherine quickly took them and threw one to Sara, keeping the other one in her purse.

"Why can't I have one?" Lindsey whined.

"So many reasons," Catherine mumbled. "Thank you, Sam," Catherine told him as they got up from their seats.

"It's not trouble, Catherine," Sam said. "Get some rest, all of you."

"We will," Catherine said. She waited until he had walked off and then said, "Let's go, shall we?" Sara and Lindsey only nodded as Catherine led them to the elevators. "Floor #...4?" Catherine said. "Wow...we must have a suite," she said as the elevator doors opened. She stepped inside and waited for Sara and Lindsey to follow until she pressed the number '4' button.

When the doors opened, they walked over to their room and opened the door. Lindsey shoved them out of the way quickly, jumping on one of the king-sized beds in the room. "This is my bed!" Lindsey yelled.

"Hey, I don't know about that, kiddo," Catherine said. "Sara should get her own bed," Catherine told her, grabbing her by her arm and pulling her off the bed.

Lindsey quickly turned to Sara. "You don't care if I have the bed, do you?"

Sara laughed. "Lindsey!" Catherine yelled.

"Fine.." Lindsey sighed, collapsing onto one of the beds and closing her eyes.

Sara smiled, looking around the room. "This is huge.." she observed. "And beautiful.." she said, walking through the room and looking into the bathroom- it was almost as large as her entire apartment and had a bath tub and shower, not to mention three white porcelain sinks with silver faucets.

Catherine sighed, sitting down on the bed. "It's Sam," she said with a small smile.

Sara smiled a little, sitting down on the bed across from the other. Looking down at the floor, Catherine noticed something...she still didn't look her best...she didn't look as happy as she could be...but Catherine knew why...it took time to heal. She knew that, she had third-degree burns from her marriage from Eddie, but...Sara was so much younger than her, and she had also been through so much more than herself. She didn't deserve that.

"Cath, I'm going to take a shower," Sara told her.

"Okay," Catherine said. And then something hit her. "Wait a minute.." she warned.

"It's okay," Sara told her. "I swear, I'll be fine," she told her.

Catherine sighed. "Alright." She watched as Sara walked into the bathroom and disappeared around the corner. She could hear her turning the faucets on and the door closing as she got in and fell back against the bed, looking over at her now-sleeping daughter. She closed her eyes and fell asleep herself as Sara finished up in the shower.

"Cath?"

Catherine flinched when she heard her name.

"Cath?"

Why wasn't this person letting her sleep?

"Cath..?"

She groaned, opening her eyes. "What?" she asked.

Sara smiled. "I called room service and got some food...you've been asleep for a few hours," Sara told her.

"What? Food? Where?" Catherine asked, suddenly very much awake.

Sara laughed. "It's on the table," she told her. Catherine nodded and slowly got up, looking over to her left only to notice Lindsey was already up and eating. With a smile and a tired yawn, she walked over to the table and got a plate of food, sitting back down on the bed with her plate and a drink. She watched as Sara sat down on the bed with a plate for herself and started eating immediately.

"You were hungry," Catherine said.

Sara smiled. "It feels like I haven't eaten in forever," she told her, taking another bite of her food. Catherine just watched- she didn't look like she had scrubbed that hard when she was in the shower, she was wearing short sleeves, and now that she had some food and had taken a hot shower she looked completely refreshed.

Catherine smiled- she knew that the brunette still hadn't completely recovered...hell she hadn't recovered from her marriage yet, but...with her friends and her already strong mind and soul, she was going to recover.

Catherine could feel it.

And she wasn't going to be alone.

Ever.

Again.

The End


End file.
